


Something Forgotten

by thisonecollector



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Fights, Gen, Mentions of alcohol, Monster Hunters, Mystery Trio, Pre-ATOTS names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-06
Updated: 2016-04-06
Packaged: 2018-05-31 15:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6475849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisonecollector/pseuds/thisonecollector
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>First Gravity Falls fic I ever wrote!  So Pre-ATOTS names<br/>Grunkle Stan = Stanford<br/>Author = Stanley </p><p>Ford agreed to go on a late night/early morning monster hunt with his brother when things go terribly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Stanford let out a long and groggy yawn before slumping against the car window. “Ya know Poindexter, I know I agreed to wake up early, but this is ridiculous.”

“Oh come on Stan, it’s only 2 am! Prime time for investigating the paranormal-“

“I swear if you say ‘paranormal’ one more time, I’m gonna-“

“You’re gonna _knock my lights out_ , I know I know.” Stanley interrupted with a slight smirk at the end. Stanford stayed silent out of annoyance. Stanley took note of his twin’s exhausted annoyance and kept quiet to avoid adding to his brother’s bad mood. Stanford looked at his brother for a moment, then went back to glaring out the passenger window. He watched as signs and dim lights sped by. The car was silent again, Stanford sighed and squinted both his eyes between his index finger and thumb. He’d been up late playing cards with the guys down at the town’s pub. _There’s something I’m forgetting…_ He thought to himself, with uneasiness building in his stomach.

“What’s wrong? Pissed off another loan shark?” Stanley murmured without taking his eyes off of the road.

“No! Just running on 2 and a half hours of sleep. Thanks to someone.” Ford replied glaring at his brother. “Hey, did ya bring the coffee or was I supposed to?” Lee reached behind the driver’s seat and tossed Ford a thermos. _Not the coffee…_ Stanford thought to himself, unscrewing the lid and taking a sip.

Stanley had an important meeting tomorrow presenting his findings and research on the monsters he and McGucket had discovered in Gravity Falls. Ford had agreed to wake up early and drive his car loaded with all the test tubes, beakers, and artifacts that could not fit into the other two’s vehicles. To his dismay, Ford was awoken not to drive across country, but to help his brother in another one of his investigations. “So why couldn’t the twerp go out on this goose chase with you?”

Stanley sighed and rolled his eyes, “I told you Ford, McGucket and his wife have been having…problems.” Stanley shifted in his seat uncomfortably and cleared his throat, “I promised him I’d give him his space, and some time to patch things up.” Lee leaned forward, squinting his eyes to get a better view of the signs they were approaching.

_McGucket’s marriage problems? Was that it? No…something else._

While pondering, Ford caught Stanley’s slight glance at him, noting his lack of reply. To this, Ford cleared his throat, “Marriage problems? Hah. Surprising that he’s married, let alone getting laid!” Stanford smirked and took another sip of coffee. “Wish he was the one losing sleep, not me.”

Lee rolled his eyes but continued driving. He felt a bit guilty waking his brother up with so little sleep, but this was in no way a solo case. “Ya, ya, we’re still a ways from the sighting, so try to get some sleep and quit your complaining.”

Ford didn’t reply, he just sat there staring out the window. The uneasiness hadn’t subsided, and it felt like it was crawling through him like goosebumps. He closed his eyes, _Now focus. What am I forgetting? Camera? No. Backpack? No. Back up camera? No…_ Stanford continuously listed all the equipment his brother had asked him to gather. But to his dismay, everything was packed and present, _What the hell am I forgetting?_

“Hey Ford, wake up now. We’re here.”

Stanford was startled by the sudden sound of his brother’s voice and the slamming of the car door. He groaned, wiping his eyes while getting out of the car. “What are we even do… Where are we?!” he scanned around them. The twins were parked on the side of a highway adjacent to forestry.

“Not too far from Gravity Falls.” Lee commented while unlocking the car’s trunk. “Legend has it that the forest on the out skirts of Gravity Falls lurks a creature…”

_Another spooky telltale. Ugh, not this again._ Ford thought to himself, ignoring his brother as he mindlessly helped him unload their supplies from the trunk.

“So me and McGucket found a translation error! Everyone thought it said, _new moon,_ but it actually translates to _June’s moon._ ” With that, Lee handed Ford the last of their supplies.

“Ya ya whatever.” Stanford motioned for Lee not to close the trunk. “Anyways, you take this one.” Ford brought out an old lock box and handed it to him.

“What? No Stan.”

“You’re going to need this, so here take it!” he said shoving the box into his brother’s arms.

“I said no! Look, why don’t you just take it if you’re so paranoid.” Lee protested, pushing the metal box to Ford.

“Cause I’m fine, I’m already packing.” Stanford lifted up his left pant leg, on it was an ankle holster which was accommodated by a Snubnose revolver.

Stanley glanced down at his ankle, “A .45 silver with a redwood grip. Tch. Do I want to know where you got that?” he sneered at his brother half-worried, half-jokingly.

“What can I say, Joe’s a shiftless gambler and bought it with this.” Ford shrugged with a cocky smile, “So I’m fine so you take this!” he motioned towards the metal lock box again.

“I’m not taking this with me Ford, and that’s final!” Stanley set the container back into the trunk of the car.

“Damnit Lee. Why? You’ve been hanging out with that hippy nerd for too long.” Ford growled at him. He unlocked the box and unloaded its contents. He pulled out a Colt 1911, black with redwood grip. It was their father’s pistol that he used during the Second World War.

“No! Look, why would I want to take that anyways?! Why would I risk losing the thing I’m trying to study-“

“Why? Why?!” Ford interrupted him, stepping closer to him, “Because what if one of those things out there tries to hurt you, or…” he suddenly felt a pulsating pain in his chest, stopping midsentence, gasping for air. _What the hell is this?!_

“Look Stan, if that happens, we can run away and go back to it better prepared.” Lee continued, as if ignoring his brother’s rapid surge of pain. He put his hands to his temples, “Look, there’s not even a guarantee that bullets can stop these things.”

Somehow Stanford managed to blurt out “Well, if it bleeds, we can kill it.” He barely knew that he had spoken and felt as if his words just spelt out of him. _What’s going on?!_ The pain in his chest had slowly started to fade and he gazed at his twin. The two stood there in silence, neither was budging in their opinion. Feeling a headache surging Ford sighed “Fine Lee. I’ll take both.” With that he check the clip of the 1911 and shoved it down the back of his jeans. The holster was long gone, and the two were meaning to find a replacement.

Lee nodded, closed the trunk, and the two set out into the forest. Again, silence fell upon the brothers. Stanley felt that this was due to the bickering and tension, but his brother was not all that bothered by the past occurrences. Instead, Stanford was focusing on what he had forgotten, and the mysterious pain he felt earlier.

_What’s going on? Did I get hit earlier? Am I hurt? No I was just playing cards with the fellas, nothing went out of hand this time…right? R-right. Why did I say that? How did I say that?_

“Stan…get down.” Stanley was taking point, he signaled for the both of them to crouch. The two took cover behind a bush. Ford maneuvered himself to his right to get a better view at what Lee was looking at. There he saw it, they both saw it.

A 10 foot tall figure. Its body was wide and shaggy with what appeared to be fur. The creature moved its head, which was oval and small compared to its body. Attached to each side of its cranium were antlers that were thin and stretched out across the beast like tree branches. The creature moved slow, careful, and precise.  

Both of the twins stayed still in awe. Stanford felt the pain welling up in his chest again and started gasping for air. He looked towards his brother who remained staring at their finding, as if unaffected by the noise he was making. He clutched his chest with his right arm, and reach toward him with his left, “Sta-Stanley…” he managed to whimper weakly. Ford became lightheaded and started tilting to his right, but manage to regain his balance and footing. While shuffling, he stepped on a twig which snapped loudly.

Lee jumped a bit by the sudden noise, but both instinctively ducked and laid flat under the bush to avoid the gaze of the beast. The creature took note of the sound as well, and glanced towards its origin. It stared at the bush for what seemed like an eternity. The brothers just laid there, their hearts beating faster and faster, hearing each pulse rise into their ears and throat.

After a long while, they both heard leaves rustling in the beast’s direction, and the sighed in relief. Getting up to his knees, Ford whispered “Let’s back trail a bit so-“ he turned around and to his shock a creature with matted fur and tree like antlers was staring at him at eye level. _How’d the hell it get behind us?!_ He jumped back pushing his brother away from the creature with him.

“Uff!” “Ow!” the twins stammered away from the beast. Stanley eventually got on all fours, while his brother landed on his bottom, still staring at the thing. Lee rubbed his head, “But, how?!” he then peered towards the direction they had originally saw the beast. “Sta-Stan…” to his dismay, the 10 foot creature was still there. Ford looked towards his twin, then at what he was pointing at. He gasped and his heart stopped.

“T-two of them…That’s why the reports were so inconsistent. Heh, there are two of them…” Stanley murmured shakily. He couldn’t help but grin a little at this turn of events. The adrenaline was flowing, and Lee began to shake even more violently.

“Wha?” Stanford could barely comprehend what his brother was saying and looked behind him. To his horror, Lee was right. The 10 foot monster stood there staring at them, while _another_ sandwiched them between the two. The second beast looked exactly the same as the first, although this one was significantly smaller in size, Ford figured about 4 feet tall.

Ford pulled himself to his senses, “Well, not anymore!” he simultaneously jumped to his feet and pulled the Colt out from his jeans. He took aim at the taller beast.

“Wait, Stan stop!” Lee cried out

_No! I can’t!_ Ford thought to himself, he had the monster in his sights and wasn’t going to risk them getting surrounded by the two. “Ahh!” a shot rang out, but just as he pulled the trigger, something swatted his hand, diverting the bullet’s course and sending the Colt flying to his left and out of his grasp.

“Ford!”

“What the fuck?!” the smaller beast was now in front of him. _How?!_ Ford stepped back, covering the wound it had inflicted on his right hand. _It has claws!_

“It’s too fast…” he heard Lee mumble. As soon as he said this, the smaller creature dash backwards. With the smaller one out of the way, the larger beast lunged forward, wrapping its claws around Stanford’s neck.

“STANFORD!” Lee yelled stammering to his feet, but was quickly tackled by the smaller creature. Stanley fell onto his back holding the beast has far away from him as possible, while it furiously took swipes at his face and neck.

Stanford gasped for air, clawing at the grip of the monster that held him tightly. In response, it lifted him 2 feet off the ground, causing him to struggle and choke more. “Stanley…” he wheezed, trying to find his brother. Ford could feel the blood rush to his head and sweat start to form from his strain. “N-no…” he rasped as his vision began to fade and limbs began to go limp. His thrashing legs stopped and started to feebly sway back and forth. His arms and hands that were scraping to get the beast’s sturdy grip off, fell to his sides.

Lee was in a panic fury as he witnessed this unfold, “No! Ford? FOOOOORRRRRDDD!” To his horror, the creature tighten its hold on his neck, digging its claws into Ford’s flesh. Blood started to slowly drip and trail downwards, and in response to the wounds, his body sent a shivering wave down his limbs. _He’s still alive!_ Stanley screamed to himself. The smaller creature was still on top of him, lashing about. Its claws had already scraped his chin and both of his cheeks. His head was clearer and focused now. He positioned himself so both his feet were under the monster’s chest and with all his strength, he landed one solid kick onto the beast, throwing it a few yards away from him.

The small creature let out an ear piercing screech as it flew back. Lee threw both his hands to his head to protect his ears from the horrid noise. The larger creature witnessed what was done it its smaller counterpart and let out a retched screech as well. This one was louder and deeper. Lee felt himself shake with the ground. It was as if the monster was so loud that it could cause earthquakes. He shut his eyes and screamed in pain. The beast stopped and glared at him. Stanley was panting now and looked up at the figure. “Ford…” his actions had upset the beast and casted its focus onto him, therefore loosening the grip it had on his brother’s throat.

Stanford barely remained conscious the whole time and was now coughing and choking on air. He squirmed a little, still trapped in the creature’s claws, but he managed to see Lee. Ford partially succeeded in getting his breathing back into rhythm and opened his mouth to say something. But then the beast threw him a side nonchalantly, stepping towards Stanley. The monster possessed such strength, that its effortless toss still rammed Ford into a tree. His back hit the trunk, followed by his head with a loud THUD. Ford’s body sank down the tree, hunch over in a sitting position. He could hear his heartbeat in his head and the sharp pain of the initial impact started spreading. Stanford was now a gasping for air again all the while trying to stay conscious. He hugged his ribs trying to ease the pain, and forced himself to sit up to observe what was happening. The beast had done a number on him in such a short amount of time, his hearing was muffled and he strained his eyes trying to see through his tunnel vision.

“Stanford! Are you alright?!” Lee cried out to his brother as he jumped to his feet. He grind his teeth in fear and anger as he watched his brother shuddering in pain. But he couldn’t stare at him for long because the creature dove in on him. Its sharp claws made contact with Stanley’s left forearm and he staggered away from it. He held his footing while the beast continuously took swipes at him. The larger monster was definitely stronger of the two, but it was slow enough to dodge. _The gun! Where is it?! If I can shoot it in the leg, we can get out of here without losing the beast…_

Ford steadied his breath and his vision cleared. He watched as his brother danced around the monster’s attacks. With needles of pain shooting up and down his body, he grabbed his left leg and removed the revolver from its holster. “You leave him alone you son of a-“ Ford took aim, but again a shot ran out, missing its target. The smaller beast had grabbed his hand and redirected the shot. Ford screamed and struggled against the smaller creature.

Stanley scanned the direction of the shot and saw his brother being attacked by the smaller of the two. Before he could say or do anything, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. _The Colt!_ It was about a yard away from him and the creature was still in pursuit. Lee made several dodges, maneuvering the monster away from the gun. When there was significant distance between the two, Lee leapt towards the Colt grabbing it. He quickly rolled and stood up, but immediately felt a dark uneasiness sink into him. He turned around, but it was too late. The large creature was already behind him, and before Stanley could do anything, it plunged its claws into is midsection. The two stood still. The large figure had crouched to Stanley’s level, and he could feel the warmth of the beast’s breath on his face. He didn’t move, he couldn’t move, he was too shock to do so. Lee felt his arms lose strength and fall to his sides, still holding the Colt. His knees buckled a little, but he remained standing, and looked down at the wound. Stanley didn’t feel pain, not yet, he just gazed upon the wound. He felt the beast’s claws inside him, in and around his intestines, chilling them. Then he felt the immense pain of it all as his hot blood started to steep through his clothing. He coughed out blood and wheezed for air. His head tilted back and he felt himself sliding back.

“STAANNLLEEEYYYY!!” Ford roared in horror. Stanford had watched his own twin brother being stabbed before him as he struggled against the smaller monster. His heart sank, and he felt like the whole world around him was pounding. Tears welled up as he screamed, “NO! LEE HOLD ON!!”

Lee had heard him and locked eyes with his brother as he was tumbling down. His vision was blurring as he felt the beast unsheathe its claws from his body. _I have to give Ford a chance._ Stanley thought to himself as he used the last bit of energy he had to toss the Colt in his brother’s direction before collapsing. Stanford saw what his brother had done and with all his strength and urgency managed to pin the smaller creature down with his forearm. The thing below screamed and clawed at him even more, but Ford had no time for it. He steadied the revolver in his hand, pointed, and rang 4 shots into the beast’s chest. It cried out its dying breath and crumbled before him.  

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Ford screamed, tears running down his face. He rose to his feet, ignoring all the pain and injuries that were inflicted on him. With a shaky arm he fired the revolver, landing a bullet in the monster’s right shoulder. It was already screeching at Ford for what it had done to its smaller counterpart, but now it was wailing in pain. _Click. Click._ The snubnose was empty. Realizing this, he rushed for the Colt, grabbing it tightly. This gun had seen war, had tasted blood, and protected the Pines family on multiple occasions. This time was no different. Stanford wasn’t going to miss this shot, he couldn’t. The beast was still howling and thrashing about too busy to react to Stan. He pulled the trigger, landing a shot in its left hip area. It screeched louder in pain, and Stan winced at the intensity of its noise. _It’s still up!_ He took aim again and fired two more rounds into its chest. The creature stumbled back but meagerly continued its pursuit on the man. Stan was furious, he bit down hard and shouted, “JUST DIE ALREADY!” With that, he lost all control, pouring the remaining 4 rounds into the beast.

Ford’s screaming fury eventually died down, but his hand still pulled the trigger creating the awful clicking noise. Panting for air, he wiped the hot tears streaming down his face. “It can’t be…” he mumbled to himself as he observed the creature still engaged in its attack. It had 8 rounds in it, both from .45s. This thing was strong and resilient as it hobbled towards the man. Stan just stayed in his position. He was trying to come up with a plan and figure out what to do next, but nothing came to mind. There was too much racing through his head, the adrenaline, his brother’s condition, the wounds that made him shake uncontrollably, and that gnawing feeling that he had forgotten something. All this was too much for him and he felt his head tilt to the side. _Don’t pass out! Don’t pass out damnit!_

The beast was crawling now, and stretched its left arm to grab Stanford who was just a few feet away. Shaking violently, it let out one last howl and collapsed to the ground face first. Ford was relieved, he fell to his knees gasping for air again. But this was no time for him to relax, his head shot back up and looked towards his brother.

“LEE!!” he hollered as he bolted to his brother. Stanley was flat on his back, unconscious, blood pooling around him. “Lee! Hey Lee! Wake up! Just stay with me!” Stanford repeated shakily as he knelt down by his brother. He slipped his hand under his neck, elevating it and placed the other over the wound. “Lee! Come on! Stay with me okay?! Just stay with me!!”

Stanley’s eyes fluttered open and he coughed out blood again. He began trembling in his brother’s arms. Stanford sighed in relief, “There we go! Just hang on, we’ll get some help okay?! Just save your strength and stay awake…” the sight of his twin brother made him quiver in fear. He pressed down on the wound to try to stop the bleeding.

Lee whimpered in pain and spat out blood once more. He broke his gaze from his brother and looked off to where the beast had stood. Nothing was there, he noted peering back at Stanford. Stanley’s vision was fading again, but he could tell his brother was a sobbing mess at this point. Clearing his throat, he lifted his head a bit. “St…Stanford.” He manage to weakly utter.

“Not now. Just save your strength!”

“I’m s-so…” Stanley’s pupils rolled upward a bit and his head fell limp back into Ford’s arm. His shaggy breath stopped, along with his trembling body.

Stanford noticed, and pushed his brother a bit, “Hey, what were you saying? Stanley?” he spoke between sobs. There was no response.

Ford’s head was pounding again, his heart had sank, and tears were pouring down his face. He felt the world around him collapsing, and he screamed, “LEE! NO LEE! HEY WAKE UP STAN! STOP FUCKING AROUND! THIS ISN’T FUNNY!!” there was still no response and Stanford pulled him in closer. “NO! NOOO DAMNIT! YOUR-YOUR EYES ARE STILL OPEN! THAT MEANS YOU’RE STILL ALIVE! SO TALK TO ME STANLEY!” he shook his brother’s corpse a bit hoping for something, anything that was a sign that he was still there. “No, no no no. Please…n-no!” Ford couldn’t control himself. He cradled Lee’s corpse and began to sob heavily into his chest.

His brother was dead, and it was all his fault for alerting the beasts. Stanford blame himself. He cried and wailed, taking long raspy breaths. This was terrible and Ford’s head was swirling. His body was shaking so much and all of his emotions made him feel like he was imploding.

“NO! NOOOO! I’M SORRY! I’M SO SORRY!! NOOO! NOOOOOOOOOO-“

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-

“No!” Stanford cried jolting up from his bed. He was panting while beads of sweat were trailing down his brow. Ford study all the things around him. He was in his room, in his bed. After calming down a bit, he put his fingers to his temples as the all too familiar pain of a hangover was starting to emerge. He sighed and wiped his tears away. _Nightmare?_ _How embarrassing._ He thought to himself as he looked at the bandages on his arm. Stanford figured he’d been in a fight the night before when he was drinking down town.

A knock at his door startled him before he could try to remember what happen. “Really? Still in bed?” Stanley said through the open door. Ford sigh in relief at the sight of his brother safe from any harm. He faked yawned covering his face in the hopes that Lee wouldn’t ask him what was wrong. _Did he even hear me? I hope not…_

Stanley took a few paces into his room, staring blankly at the plethora of Ford’s boxing memorabilia. “Look, you said you’d be up by 9:30, it’s 10:45! We’re going to be late.” He said in an unimpressed huff.

“Ya ya Poindexter, don’t get your panties in a bunch, I’ll get dressed soon.” He rubbed is eyes and slid out of bed, stretching the kinks and soreness away. Ford didn’t even want to think about what crazy fiasco that he’d agreed to do for his brother this time.

Stanley turned on his heels and began making his way out the door, but stopped short. Stanford still had his eyes closed, mindlessly stretching. Lee turned his head and said over his shoulder:

“You better hurry up, or you’ll be late to my funeral.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little continuation from the terrible events of the monster hunt.  
> *Stanford Pines = Grunkle Stan  
> *Stanley Pines = The Author

Manly Dan arrives to the local pub in his hometown of Gravity Falls. He’s been out of town for the past 2 weeks, helping some distance family members with a logging job. He didn’t think too much of it, mainly because his car broke down by the entrance of the town, but he was assisted by a very stunning woman. She had even given him her number. But now he was back in town, and he needed to let loose.

Dan bursted through the pub’s swinging doors, eyes were on him and a few cheers were let out, greeting him. He politely grinned and waved at the regulars as he made his way to the bar.

“Hey Joe.” Dan greeted the bartender as he took a seat. He noticed a man slumped to his left. He had a leather jacket, dirty jeans, and his face burrowed in his right arm.

“Dan! Long time no see. The usual?”

“You know it.” He replied with a grin. Joe prepared his drink while Dan glanced to his left again. He motioned, and glared questioning at the bartender. To which Joe mouthed back _Stan Pines._

He nodded a thank you to him and looked back at his friend. _He seems a bit roughed up…_ Dan slapped a heavy hand on the man’s shoulder and bellowed loudly, “Pines! Long time no see!”

Stan was startled a bit, but groggily lifted his head and gazed upon the commotion. “Hey Corduroy.” He mumbled back at him. Dan took note of his red shot eyes, and dark circles under them.

“Hohoho, you look like shit.” He took a sip of his drink.

“Ya…” was all Stan could say, looking mindlessly at the pub’s ceiling fan. Dan nudged him and motioned if he wanted a drink of his own. He just waved his hand back at him, “No thanks.”

“Ya, maybe you should lay off a bit. Or call it a night.”

The other man had returned gazing upon the ceiling. “Ya I wish I could Dan… I wish I could.”

“What’s wrong? Still missing Carla?” he teased.

“No, just my brothers been keeping me up all night.” He answered flatly.

“Ehh, that’s what siblings do. Why don’t you just ask him to shut up for a while? Or stop what he’s doing?”

“I have…” Stan sighed exhaustingly.

Dan lifted a brow, “And…?”

“I’ve visited his grave and asked him to stop. But it doesn’t help…”

**Author's Note:**

> Ford having a nightmare/flashback of his brother’s death (hence the triggers of the beast/Stanley not noticing him struggling in the beginning) And nope, not Lee’s ghost, Stanford’s hallucination of him (because it’s common for grieving people to “see” the deceased)


End file.
